Frank Eyton remains a somewhat shadowy figure whose name is mainly known for his contribution to the lyrics of “Body and Soul.” Most of his work, however, seems to have been for London’s West End theater scene. His two main collaborations were with Noel Gay and Billy Mayerl, both English. “Miss Up-to-Date,” written with Mayerl, was used in the sound version of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1929 film, Blackmail. They also wrote the musical comedy, Nippy (1930), which featured the song, “It Must Be You.”

Noel Gay was the alias of Richard Armitage, who wished to keep his popular songwriting separate from his position as Music Director and organist at St. Anne’s Church. Ultimately Gay gave up his church duties and devoted himself to less sacred fare, becoming one of Britain’s most popular songwriters. He has the distinction of having had four shows running simultaneously in the West End. He also was well known for his novelty “ragtime” piano tunes. Eyton and Gay’s most successful effort was the musical farce, Bob’s Your Uncle (1948), which ran for 363 performances.

In 1942 Eyton created original music for the film Let the People Sing, and in 1947 he co-wrote the musical score for the critically successful boxing film, Body and Soul, which starred John Garfield.